Daily Beast Amends Controversial Olympics Article

One loose rule of journalism is: the longer the Editor’s Note, the more legitimate the surrounding controversy. By that measure, the note at the bottom of a Daily Beast article by Nico Hines is medal-worthy.

The italicized annotation from editor in chief John Avlon totals 300 words and ends as follows:

Some readers have read Nico as mocking or sex-shaming those [Olympic athletes] on Grindr. We do not feel he did this in any way. However, The Daily Beast understands that others may have interpreted the piece differently.

Accordingly, we have made some editorial changes to the article, responding to readers’ concerns, and are again sorry for any upset the original version of this piece inspired.

Not exactly an admission of editorial guilt, but it’s better than nothing with regards to married reporter Hines’ covert use of Grindr to connect with closeted Olympic athletes. The headline originally read “I Got Three Grindr Dates in an Hour in the Olympic Village.”

Coverage of Olympic Village sexual shenanigans has become a tiresome hacksaw. The Daily Beast might also want to change the groaner of a tag (Muscular Athlete for Meets).

Update (10:00 p.m.): The Hines article has now been entirely removed. In its place, another note, which reads in part:

Today we did not uphold a deep set of The Daily Beast’s values. These values — which include standing up to bullies and bigots, and specifically being a proudly, steadfastly supportive voice for LGBT people all over the world — are core to our commitment to journalism and to our commitment to serving our readers.

The apology does not specifically mention what sort of editor chain, if any, reviewed the Hines article before it was posted.